Wednesday, March 28, 2017 will be the the second annual Minoru Yasui Day as officially recognized by the Oregon Legislature. Who was Minoru Yasui you might ask? He was a Japanese American lawyer who challenged President Roosevelt’s executive order 9066: aka the executive order which led the way to Japanese Internment camps.

On my way into the McMenamins Kennedy School to see a presentation of Stories of the Resistance to Japanese American Incarceration by Linda Tamura and George Nakata, I happened to come across a lovely cherry tree in blossom. The light was low, but I was able to capture this photo:

Inside I learned that this very tree that I’d snapped a quick photo of was in fact donated to the Kennedy School in 1939 by the Nakamura family who’s children attended the school. The Nakamuras wanted to give back to their community, but only two years after giving this gift the  larger community of our country decided they wanted more from the Nakamuras. In the name of safety and security, President Roosevelt signed an executive order which led to the imprisonment of the Nakamura family and thousands of others.

When we take freedoms away from one it is to the detriment  of all.